How Doug the Pug Conquered the World
Everybody loves pugs.
Everybody loves social media.
What would it happen if you mix both of them?
It will potentially lead to an excellent outcome.
Potentially…
Potentially means that, as usual, a good idea or a good combination of elements is not enough to get success.
Success requires execution.
Execution requires hard work.
itsdougthepug is such a great example of hard work and determination.
Taking a little step back, Leslie Moiser is the mastermind behind Doug the Pug. She used to work as Director of New Media at Aware Records in Nashville, Tennessee, thanks to her skills in graphic design and artist management.
But who is Doug?
Doug the Pug is a pug (well, I’d have never guessed that) with more than 9M followers across Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat (@itsdougthepug) and Twitter.
Also, he’s a New York Times bestseller author (well, wtf?!) and protagonist of his own brand’s graphics.
I could keep on talking about his achievements, but this is not the reason why I’m writing this article.
I want you to think about how he (and Leslie) got on top.
I’m going to write seven points.
In my opinion, these points have been crucial in Doug’s story, and you know what?
Surprise, surprise — we’ve already seen a few of them in my old articles.
As a fan of Doug I’m so excited to write this article, so let’s cut the chase and start it out!
1) Catchy name
Doug the Pug is a proper form of word game called paronomasia (from Latin) which consists of a combination of similar-sounding words.
This kind of naming technique is used in branding and advertising quite often: have you ever heard of Coca Cola?
2) Storytelling
Each of Doug’s posts has a distinct voice. As I wrote in my old article about Customer Retention, people want to match a brand to a voice.
Doug the Pug has a strong voice and knows how to make it go viral.
3) Uniqueness
If you can’t imagine how creativity affects your gallery, have a look at itsdougthepug’s gallery. I wouldn’t be able to create as much content as Leslie did.
Do you think it’s happened overnight?
The short answer is: it hasn’t at all.
If you don’t know how to start producing your own content, I wrote an article about the “HHH Model”.
Just read it, it might help you!
4) Quality
As we always say, quality is crucial when it comes to publishing high-quality content. And it’s not only a matter of originality.
If she had published the same unique photos, and she had taken them by a herself, then she wouldn’t have achieved the same success.
In this auto-interview, she talks about her boyfriend Rob who moved to Nashville to take part in the project. He shot the video “Best Friend” that went viral hitting more than 21M views.
If you want to be serious about social media, you have to invest in it.
5) Engagement
Your success depends on your followers.
It seems that Leslie does know that, no wonder she still keeps on replying to her audience as much as possible.
It’s incredible that she still engage with them. From the very beginning.
She replies to her followers on a daily basis, and this aspect helps her when it comes to launching contests and interacting with potential customers.
This is probably one of the most important points.
Look
After
Your
Audience
Period
6) Niche
You should’ve already recognised the niche power.
Nowadays, the proliferation of social media content makes it difficult to grab people’s attention.
That’s why we need to focus our efforts on a well-defined niche.
If Doug the Pug was Jog the Dog, he’d have way fewer followers. Why?
Especially at the beginning, you have to leverage a certain target of people.
Take care of this point, and I’ll write a more-detailed article about it very soon.
7) Monetise
I usually say that we have to invest in our social media, in its content, and in its audience’s engagement. But once we got a good audience, we have to start monetising it.
And keep in mind that the more we monetise, the better.
We have to make the most out of our social media.
Doug the Pug’s case-study can help us to get some good idea.
Doug wrote a few books, owns his e-Commerce and plans live events with his followers.
Just to grasp the concept, have a look at these links:
Doug the Pug: The Coloring and Activity Book
Doug the Pug: The King of Pop Culture
One of my favorite aspects of running a social media account is that you’ll have the chance to improve it on the way.
Do you really believe that Leslie already knew how to make money out of her pug?
Do you believe that she knew that she would have written a few books on behalf of her pug?
Do you think that she knew that her dog would have been shot with a lot of celebrities?
She’s just ridden her wave in a stunning way.
That girl knows her shit, and I truly believe that the harder she works, the luckier we gets.
She’s been lucky, and she did deserve it.
This was Alessio Cordeddu from edithmedia.com, and I wish you enjoyed this article.
It would mean the world to me to get your feedback — thank you for your attention.
Peace
